Things That Are Not The Same

[Riedquat]

Good point - they say everyone is different. Even penguins look the same but can't be. The question I guess is, do species tend to sameness over time or variety?

It's hard to know whether it's familiarity that reveals the differences. All wild rabbits look the same to me but I don't spend much time looking at them. Dogs and cats show a lot of variety within the species (much of it artificially created) but individuals of a breed don't always look the same - is that because we spend more time with dogs and cats than rabbits so we're more familiar with the small differences, or are they more varied in reality?

[MrPin]

Swans all look similar but pigeons are all different patterns.

[Northerner]

Swans all look similar

Some have attitude though ...

[SNACR]

Back on topic, possibly canal boats. OK they're all the same basic shape but the ones going past my house all at least look different from a casual glance, even if it's mostly just down to how they're painted. And some are noisier than others. Back to beer, pubs vary a lot (even if there also a lot of identical-looking chain ones around).

You'd be very disappointed with the one I'm building. All the latest tech and materials and not a horse brass or garishly painted jug thing in sight. I'm aspiring to steering it through locks remotely with an iphone app. I'd also like a remote controlled cordless li-on windlass key, to operate the lock paddles remotely but, suspect it may provoke disapproval from the Canal & River Trust if it starts wrecking the lock hardware.

[MrPin]

You'd be very disappointed with the one I'm building. All the latest tech and materials and not a horse brass or garishly painted jug thing in sight. I'm aspiring to steering it through locks remotely with an iphone app. I'd also like a remote controlled cordless li-on windlass key, to operate the lock paddles remotely but, suspect it may provoke disapproval from the Canal & River Trust if it starts wrecking the lock hardware.

You need a Bolinder engine for a nice "chuffy" sound. Otherwise it sounds like a Mitsubishi van

[SNACR]

You need a Bolinder engine for a nice "chuffy" sound. Otherwise it sounds like a Mitsubishi van

I'm afraid it's got a modern Isuzu diesel that I simply went with, in the end, for reliability and the sound effect is disappointing. I have just gone for a load of soundproofing, and also for the separate generator, to make life on board as comfortable as possible.

I did briefly entertain the idea of marinising a V8 petrol and converting it to lpg - I quite liked the idea that a] lpg runs very cleanly and b] could use the lpg for both heating and propulsion. Ultimately, I came to my senses and realised it would, most likely, be hopelessly unreliable and just went for something that should give tens of thousands of hours of reliable service with minimal maintenance.

[MrPin]

I'm afraid it's got a modern Isuzu diesel that I simply went with, in the end, for reliability and the sound effect is disappointing. I have just gone for a load of soundproofing, and also for the separate generator, to make life on board as comfortable as possible.

I did briefly entertain the idea of marinising a petrol and converting it to lpg -V8 I quite liked the idea that a] lpg runs very cleanly and b] could use the lpg for both heating and propulsion. Ultimately, I came to my senses and realised it would, most likely, be hopelessly unreliable and just went for something that should give tens of thousands of hours of reliable service with minimal maintenance.

Probably the right move, Isuzu. I am a repeat offender with Harley-Davidsons, so the Bolinder appeals to me.

[happy_renting]

Some have attitude though ...

I think it's called swan-upping.

[crashmonitor]

I'd post some pics of mine but my interests are so esoteric I could actually be personally identified by my model railway. I reckon I'm probably the only person in the World modeling this prototype/scale combination.

So I'll have to think about that.

Shame would make a good thread, not got one myself but all blokes like model railways don't they? Apparently even Rod Stewart is a bit coy about his mega fifty foot layout and spends hours in his attic with it.

http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/money/rod-stewart-model-train-collection/

[Riedquat]

You'd be very disappointed with the one I'm building. All the latest tech and materials and not a horse brass or garishly painted jug thing in sight. I'm aspiring to steering it through locks remotely with an iphone app. I'd also like a remote controlled cordless li-on windlass key, to operate the lock paddles remotely but, suspect it may provoke disapproval from the Canal & River Trust if it starts wrecking the lock hardware.

Probably, but occasionally something interesting comes from fancy high-tech. That doesn't rule out you also building it with craftsmanship. If I know you're coming past I'll remove the mines from the canal.

[Northerner]

Education - not all teachers are as game as Debby ...

[The Masked Tulip]

Chocolate eclairs and chocolate choux buns - they used to come with real, hard chocolate on them. Now they come with 'chocolate' fondant, presumably because it makes it easier for factories to churn them out.

Have not had a good eclair or choux bun in over a decade.

Same thing with those finger cream doughnuts - they used to be far tastier and better made. Now, just yuck. Ditto for custard slices - most stores no longer add vanilla to them so that important taste factor has gone.

[DTMark]

I wonder whether it's more that everything seems the same because I (speaking for myself but positing this idea) have lost touch with some things.

Cars, most especially. OK, there are the laughable plastic pieces of crap that Citroen have made in more recent years with some amusing styling with some of Peugeot's designs faring little better in the aesthetic stakes, but they do all look much the same.

But then if we went back to when I was 20, I'd have been able to tell you that a Metro would out-handle a Nova any day, what the respective bhp and 0 to 60 of the two were, and that the Corrado VR6 I ultimately ended up with had 193bhp and could do 0 to 60 in about 6.3 seconds.

Now I know absolutely nothing about cars. I wonder if Vauxhalls still have that slightly dead feeling in the steering, as if it's attached to the front wheels with some kind of rubber assembly, and give up immediately if you push them hard into a corner.

Yet if I were a 20 year old version of me (I wish) I'll bet you I'd be much better informed.

[MrPin]

Cars are indeed very similar, and even Jaguar seem to have "lost it" in terms of being distinct.

[Austin Allegro]

It's up to those pushing for change to justify it. "Fear of change" is one of those phrases used by people who genuinely believe that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence (let's trade sayings!) It rarely is, and is often browner, and such people will always complain about it, no matter how green.

'If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, it's probably because it's growing on a big pile of sh*t. '

[Austin Allegro]

I thought this was going to be one of those threads about celebrities who are easy to mix up, such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmaynes, for example.

However, here goes:

Potatoes: I understand there used to be far more varieties but there aren't as many now. Same with apples.

Cars: All pretty much the same. The rot set in, I believe, with the Ford Sierra in 1982; thereafter cars gradually started to have the same shape with only minor surface differences. Eg practically all cars nowadays have that horrible rise at the back, with huge posts and a tiny back window, making rear visibility much poorer (and thus less safe) than on 80s cars such as the Talbot Horizon etc. No wonder people have to have those silly beeping radar devices for parking.

Compare all the different types of cars around in, say, the early 70s - you had the Morris Minor, basically a 40s design, the Mini from the 50s, all sorts of diverse 60s designs like the Ford Anglia and Ford Corsair, the Cortina MkIII, oddities like the Wolseley Hornet, the Daf Variomatic, the Riley Elf, the Hillman Imp with its rear opening window, not to mention all the roadsters like the MG Midget, and BGT, Triumph Stag, Triumph Dolomite, a huge variety of midrange family cars like the Austin 1100 and 1300 and the Maxi, which was a full size version of the mini, etc etc.

Now everything's a sort of bubbly little Eurobox with a cocoon interior. There doesn't even seem to be much variety in colours either.

Edit: car anoraks will realise the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf were basically the same car, but I think in general my view holds true that there was more variety.

[frozen_out]

I thought this was going to be one of those threads about celebrities who are easy to mix up, such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmaynes, for example.

However, here goes:

Potatoes: I understand there used to be far more varieties but there aren't as many now. Same with apples.

Cars: All pretty much the same. The rot set in, I believe, with the Ford Sierra in 1982; thereafter cars gradually started to have the same shape with only minor surface differences. Eg practically all cars nowadays have that horrible rise at the back, with huge posts and a tiny back window, making rear visibility much poorer (and thus less safe) than on 80s cars such as the Talbot Horizon etc. No wonder people have to have those silly beeping radar devices for parking.

Compare all the different types of cars around in, say, the early 70s - you had the Morris Minor, basically a 40s design, the Mini from the 50s, all sorts of diverse 60s designs like the Ford Anglia and Ford Corsair, the Cortina MkIII, oddities like the Wolseley Hornet, the Daf Variomatic, the Riley Elf, the Hillman Imp with its rear opening window, not to mention all the roadsters like the MG Midget, and BGT, Triumph Stag, Triumph Dolomite, a huge variety of midrange family cars like the Austin 1100 and 1300 and the Maxi, which was a full size version of the mini, etc etc.

Now everything's a sort of bubbly little Eurobox with a cocoon interior. There doesn't even seem to be much variety in colours either.

Edit: car anoraks will realise the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf were basically the same car, but I think in general my view holds true that there was more variety.

Thus is the most rose-tinted post I have ever read. Old cars were generally horrible, terrible designs. The reason for the lack of the variety in modern cars is the same as the reason for the lack of variety in aircraft and computers - the optimal design has pretty much been arrived at.

If you want genuine differentiation you generally have to look for disruptive technologies (e.g. early IE vs. Netscape Navigator), all modern browsers pretty much look like a variation of Firefox (tabbed browsing, large readable area).

[MrPin]

The Riley Elf had more wood in it than the Wolseley Hornet. Basically minis though! Nothing horrible about minis. They were great fun.

[Hail the Tripod]

Now everything's a sort of bubbly little Eurobox with a cocoon interior. There doesn't even seem to be much variety in colours either.

There is a vast selection of cars now. The difference between Smart cars, the Morgan Three Wheeler, and Marauders is beyond anything from the 70s, and every niche need in between is well covered. Sadly most people just go for the dullest car they can find.

[Riedquat]

'If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, it's probably because it's growing on a big pile of sh*t. '

That's great, I'm afraid I can't resist stealing that one!

[crashmonitor]

There is a vast selection of cars now. The difference between Smart cars, the Morgan Three Wheeler, and Marauders is beyond anything from the 70s, and every niche need in between is well covered. Sadly most people just go for the dullest car they can find.

Smart cars always strike me as units of environmental destruction, how is it green to only have two seats. I guess any owner with normal demands on a car needs another car to carry passengers.

[Guest eight]

Cars: All pretty much the same. The rot set in, I believe, with the Ford Sierra in 1982; thereafter cars gradually started to have the same shape with only minor surface differences. Eg practically all cars nowadays have that horrible rise at the back, with huge posts and a tiny back window, making rear visibility much poorer (and thus less safe) than on 80s cars such as the Talbot Horizon etc. No wonder people have to have those silly beeping radar devices for parking.

You should have a go of our Fiat. The windows must be the biggest proportion of surface area of just about any car They start so low down that it's pretty freaky (and probably epilepsy inducing) to be able to see the white lines of the lane you're in flashing past the side window. Ridiculously easy to park in probably little more than two feet more than it's own length.

[Northerner]

Smart cars always strike me as units of environmental destruction, how is it green to only have two seats. I guess any owner with normal demands on a car needs another car to carry passengers.

... I wonder who would buy such a car?

[MrPin]

... I wonder who would buy such a car?

You have mistaken me for somebody else, I believe. I couldn't get my ego in that.

[billybong]

Voiceovers of documentary news events of a few years ago - they seem to revert to that diction that is typified by voiceovers of World War 2 events even though you would never find it anywhere in the broadcast TV media during the period being reported. There must be a cut off date when that voiceover is then deemed appropriate even for relatively recent events.

A bit like the exaggerated voiceover in the comedy sketch Women: Know Your Limits!